Darling, You Were Meant to Flourish
/In 2016 I remember reading a headline about a young mother who took her life in the Target parking lot a few cities over from me.
According to her family and friends, this mom looked fine on the surface. Nobody noticed that anything was "off" with her, but this mom was obviously struggling so much that she thought the only way out was to take her own life.
As unimaginable as this may seem to many, I understand what this young mom was going through because I, too, experienced postpartum depression with all three of my pregnancies. Had it not been for a strong support system and the grace of God, I could have easily been that mom in the Target parking lot.
Through my season of battling postpartum depression, I learned several things. I learned how to seek help from friends, family and a medical team when necessary. I learned to lower the expectations I put on myself. And most importantly, I learned to fight depression head on with the Word of God.
The Lord began to stir my heart and give me a burden for other moms who were struggling in the post-partum season. In 2018, I got to walk with my sweet friend Sarah as she brought her second little one into the world.
Sarah and I both found such comfort in the Scriptures during our postpartum seasons, and we both knew we wanted to figure out a way that we could bring light to moms who were battling darkness amidst such transition.
We decided to put together a list of all the Scriptures we were clinging to so we could share them with friends we knew who were having babies. We also shared those Scripture cards here on this blog so that many of you could download them and have them for your own journeys.
Then we thought it would be really neat to put together a whole gift box for these mamas - to let them know they were seen, they were loved, and they were not alone.
So in 2019, we self-funded the supplies and mailed out our first 12 Flourish Boxes. Since then, we have expanded the vision of the ministry and are sending boxes to weary women walking through hardship, as well as teenage girls who are struggling with depression or identity issues.
Our team builds each Flourish Box with love and prays that every item inside breathes fresh strength and hope to the sweet ladies who receive one. So many ladies are struggling, and we want to let them know that they are not alone. We don’t want to read anymore headlines about women taking their own life.
Our goal is to prepare another 24 boxes to send out over the next year, and we want to invite you to be a part of all that God is doing. If this is something you feel passionate about supporting, there are two ways you can partner with us:
The first way is through donations. We are accepting donations for specific items through our Amazon Wish List. This is fun for those of you who want to give tangible gifts to these sweet ladies. We are also accepting donations through our GoFundMe link here.
The second way you can partner with us is through nominations. If you know of someone who is struggling, you can nominate them through the form on our website, and we can send them a box of encouragement.
We recently created a beautiful space to house this ministry over at www.iwillflourish.org. On that site you will find resources, testimonies, and more information on how you can partner with us!
Together we can bring light to those who are in places of darkness. May God receive all the glory for the work He is doing in and through His daughters!
I Will Flourish
Our heart is to see women flourish in their full identity in Christ — as daughters, sisters, friends, mothers, wives, and every other facet of their life and purpose.